And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.

LEVITICUS 24:6KJV
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Leviticus 24:6 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 24:6 mean?

Leviticus 24:6 instructs that twelve loaves of bread are to be arranged in two rows, with six loaves in each row, on a pure table placed before the LORD in the tabernacle. This arrangement is part of the specific way the bread, known as the "showbread," was to be set out as an offering in God's presence.

In this verse, God is speaking to Moses, giving him detailed instructions for the priests about how to present the bread inside the holy place of the tabernacle. The bread is to be set in an orderly and respectful manner, emphasizing the importance of purity ("pure table") and order in worship. This careful arrangement highlights the reverence and attention to detail expected in the service of the tabernacle.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 24:6

  • "Rows" (מַעֲרָכֶת, ma'arakhet) and "row" (מַעֲרָכֶת, ma'arakhet): This word refers to an ordered arrangement or formation. Its use here shows that the bread was not just placed randomly, but set out in a deliberate, structured way, underlining the sense of order in worship.
  • "Pure" (טָהוֹר, tahor): This word means clean or ceremonially pure. The table had to be ritually clean, which stresses the holiness required in approaching God.
  • "Before" (פָּנִים, panim): This word literally means "face" or "presence." The bread was set directly "before" the LORD, meaning it was placed in God's presence, reinforcing the idea that this was an offering continually before Him.

Why Leviticus 24:6 matters

  • Leviticus 24:6 clarifies that the arrangement of the bread was not left to personal preference but was a specific command, showing the importance of following God's instructions in worship.
  • The verse highlights the theme of purity and order in the tabernacle, which is a recurring emphasis throughout Leviticus and helps readers understand the seriousness of approaching God.
  • This detail connects to the broader passage about the showbread, helping explain the priestly duties and the sacredness of the objects and rituals in Israel's worship life.

Where else these words appear

“row” Hebrew H4635 · used in 9 verses

  • Leviticus 24:7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
  • 1 Chronicles 23:29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;
  • 2 Chronicles 13:11 And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.

“rows” Hebrew H4634 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 39:37 The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,
  • 1 Samuel 17:8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
  • 1 Samuel 17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

“table” Hebrew H7979 · used in 62 verses

  • Exodus 25:23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
  • 1 Samuel 20:34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
  • Job 36:16 Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table should be full of fatness.

“pure” Hebrew H2889 · used in 87 verses

  • Genesis 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
  • Exodus 39:25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
  • Deuteronomy 12:15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.